The Vancouver Canucks haven’t been playing well for the entire season. They had a ton of trouble in October and November. Daniel Sedin was injured, and Luongo missed a few games as well, not to mention his slump to start the season.

There are a lot of Canuck fans that have grown restless. They are tired of seeing their team make the playoffs, and then go almost nowhere. There are points where frustration can mount for the fans, as it should, and it seems like every part of the team was blamed for their lack of wins.

Recently, the Canucks have been playing a lot better. They are now sixth in the Western Conference and are slowly climbing back to the top. They are two points away from tying the Colorado Avalanche for the division lead, which is why last night’s game was so crucial.

When a lot of teams play the Oilers, they think that it should be an easy game. However, the Oilers are losing enough that they’re starting to get desperate for wins. This desperate style of play is making them tougher to beat, and teams need to compensate for that.

I think that the Canucks may have had a bit of an “eye opener” when they started losing. Normally, you don’t see a team get caught that out of position and that close together.  This late in the season, every game is a must win, and you can’t underestimate your opponent.

That’s exactly what the Canucks did during the first period last night. They really didn’t look like they were ready to play. They were actually outshot by the Oilers 12-8 in the first period, and weren’t generating enough scoring opportunities to score goals.

It would have been nice to see the Canucks play a better style of hockey in the first period. Although they won, it would have been a lot easier for Canuck fans to watch, especially since this was a must win for the team.

However, the most important thing about this win is that it allowed the Canucks to keep pace with the Avs. Unfortunately for Vancouver, the Avs are playing great hockey right now. They are on a four game winning streak and are 7-3-0 in their last ten. This is putting a ton of pressure on the Canucks to win games.

I don’t really think that Colorado has enough experience on their team to win the necessary games in crucial moments. People have started to figure out Craig Anderson as well. They’ve found his weak spots and are taking advantage of them.

I would not be surprised to see the Canucks overtake the Avs for the division. This will give them an easier team to play in the first round, and maybe, help them go a little bit farther than they have in previous seasons.

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